At the weekend Spiegel reported that Merkel has been forced to delay announcing her candidature until spring 2017, when the CSU leader reportedly plans to make his final decision on whether his party will back her.

But the CSU leader tried to shut down discussion on Monday evening, while refusing to commit his support.

Saying that it was “stupid” to have a debate about Merkel’s future so far ahead of the vote, he stated “first you decide upon what you want, then you see which person you can make that happen with.”

He added that, while he was happy to have Merkel in the conservative Union of the CDU and CSU parties, neither he nor Merkel were irreplaceable.

Still, even if Seehofer does back Merkel, the question remains of how popular she now is among the public at large. Her ratings have waxed and waned throughout the refugee crisis and dipped again following the July attacks in southern Germany.

A poll by Bild tabloid on Sunday showed that 42 percent of respondents were in favour of another term for Merkel – their poll last November showed 45 percent support.

On Tuesday the leader of the opposition, of all people, complained that Merkel had no real challenger.

“It is a tragedy that Germany is governed by a Chancellor who has caused great damage in many areas, but nevertheless – should she run again – will have the best chances to stay in 2017,” Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of Die Linke (the Left Party) told DPA.

“It’s only because there is no serious and plausible challenger,” she added.

Julia Klöckner, the influential young leader of the CDU in Rhineland-Palatinate said she “couldn’t imagine anyone else as leader,” adding it was up to Merkel to decide when she would announce if she would run again.

“Especially in the current situation, it seems to me that with her great experience, she is particularly suitable to overcome the current challenges successfully,” Hamburg CDU faction leader Roland Heintze told Spiegel.